The severely undermanned Atlanta Hawks shockingly took down the Los Angeles Lakers 122-102 at State Farm Arena on Saturday. This was easily the Lakers’ worst performance of the season, and Deandre Ayton was asked postgame about why the team didn’t play with the kind of effort that we had typically seen from them so far.
“Really, probably leaving those guys underestimated, not keeping those guys account,” Ayton said. “Forgetting about them that this is the NBA and those are NBA players… I feel like we were just behind the ball a little bit, and they killed us in transition, and they played amazing defense. And we weren’t ready for it, and JJ [Redick] basically got on us about it. Yeah, we ready for the next game.”
Ayton was later asked if this loss was more disappointing because the Lakers had just pulled off something similar in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
“Yeah,” Ayton stated. “That’s why it’s kind of like a hard pill to swallow, for real. We know what we’re coming up against, and seeing how they played, they played phenomenal, but us not even damn near competing in a sense. It looks bad on paper and looks bad on film.
“This is one of them games where yeah, the food gonna taste bad tonight,” Ayton added. “But this is the NBA, we got 82 games. Next game up.”
The Lakers had beaten the Trail Blazers 123-115 despite LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves all being out. Almost no one gave them a chance to win entering that contest, but they managed to shock the basketball world.
Ayton had 29 points that night while little-known Nick Smith Jr. dropped 25. It was a good reminder that no matter how short-handed the opponent is, you can still lose if you don’t give your absolute best in a game.
So, the Lakers, who were without James and Reaves, should have known better than anybody about what might happen if they didn’t compete hard enough against the Hawks. Even with Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard being out, there is enough talent there to give you a spanking if you aren’t at your best.
The Hawks, who were on the second night of a back-to-back, jumped out to a 19-10 lead early and led 37-29 at the end of the first quarter. That should have been a wake-up call for the Lakers, but they were never able to dig themselves out of that hole.
The Hawks led by as many as 30 points on the night and snapped the Lakers’ five-game winning streak in some style. Mouhamed Gueye was their standout performer with 21 points (8-12 FG), seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block.
Every starter for the Hawks scored in double-digits against the Lakers, and they shot 51.1% from the field as a team. This was an offensive clinic, and they have now improved to 5-5.
As for the Lakers, Doncic led the way with 22 points (7-17 FG), five rebounds, 11 assists, and one steal. Ayton, meanwhile, had 11 points (5-5 FG) and five rebounds. Head coach JJ Redick pulled these two and the rest of the starters in the third quarter as it was clear there was no way back for his team.
A lot went wrong for the Lakers against the Hawks, and it will be interesting to see how this group responds moving forward. They have dropped to 7-3 and will be in action next against the 3-6 Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on Monday at 7 PM ET.
